Do you feel that at times it can seem that eating healthily on a budget is difficult, especially as there are so many choices when at the supermarket?
And I know that this is one thing that makes eating healthily challenging, but it doesn’t need to be this way.
Below I share some tips on what you can do to enjoy your meals and make them more affordable.
Planning is key
Firstly, make sure that you plan your meals as this allows you to know what you are eating and you can then shop accordingly. So chose one day a week to meal plan and this may initially seem time consuming, but in the long term it saves you both time and money.
When planning your meals, do check what’s in the fridge or which foods in the pantry need to be eaten soon and make sure you use them first to avoid them being binned. A simple way to save money is to reduce your food wastage.
Then make your shopping list of what ingredients you need to buy.
At the supermarket
Do you find that when shopping you pick up more than you intended to buy? This is most probably because you haven’t planned your meals and prepared a shopping list or are doing a lot of impulse buying.
- At the supermarket keep to getting what you need and don’t get tempted with other foods that you won’t be cooking.
- Buy larger packets of food with a longer shelf life as this is cheaper. For example, larger packets of rice, oats, pasta, beans, lentils, etc.
- Also, buy seasonal foods as these are easily available. And you can always freeze some to have when not in season, for example, buying berries in the summer and freeze to use in smoothies.
- Get some frozen fruits and vegetables as these are convenient to use and also don’t spoil so quickly and keep for longer in the freezer.
- Get the whole grains or least processed foods as these are not just healthy but cheaper too. For instance, corn flakes is cheaper than the sweetened corn flakes which are more processed.
- Buy the supermarket’s own brands of foods which are often cheaper and taste similar to the branded one, this could be for rice, cereal, pasta, etc. Do read the labels so you know what the ingredients are.
- Skip the juices and fizzy drinks which are high in sugar and instead have water as your main drink.
- Reduce animal protein and have more vegetarian protein. Meat is more expensive when compared to beans and lentils, so instead of having it frequently, cut this down and replace with vegetarian protein which is an excellent source of fibre.
At home:
- Stay organised so you know what is kept where and then you don’t end up buying what you already have at home.
- Look at the perishable foods and packaged foods and use these first, depending on their use by date.
- Make soups or stews with the leftover vegetables instead of throwing these away.
- Cook in bulk and then refrigerate and freeze some foods.
- Take packed lunches and snacks to work or make for your children to take to school.
These are some simple yet effective ways to save money when eating healthily and this is what I’m teaching my clients to do. I go into a lot more depth into what to do in my Wellness Membership Program, where you learn how to meal plan, schedule, prepare shopping lists and prepare quick and easy meals.
Wellness Membership is one of easiest and fastest ways to get healthier, where I will be teaching you step by step what to do.
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Are you ready to take better care of yourself and create the life you have always wanted but unsure what to do?
I would love to have a FREE discovery call to share how you too can improve your health. All you need to do is send me an email at sujata@optimum-nutrition.org or schedule it directly when you CLICK HERE.
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